Our lord chancellor couldn't resist a playful dig at one of her predecessors at the judges’ dinner hosted by the lord mayor at Mansion House last week.
Speaking of the holding cells in the venue's basement, Shabana Mahmood (pictured), dressed in a beautifully ornate salwar kameez, treated guests to a little history lesson. ‘There was one particular cell reserved for women, known as the birdcage. Surrounded by judges, with a cell awaiting me, I had better be careful what I say next,’ she said to much laughter. ‘Though I must admit I can think of a few of my predecessors I’d like to banish to the cells below and I think we could have saved the country a bit of hassle had a certain Liz Truss been sent to the birdcage for some quiet reflection.’
For a politician dealing with a lot - Obiter will not mention the record-high court backlog, crumbling courts and the like - the lord chancellor did well to start her speech with a laugh. ‘Today, I am that rarest of things, a returning lord chancellor, having remained in post long enough to attend a second judges’ dinner,’ she said.
Then she got into the serious stuff before finishing on a high.
‘So, without wishing to curse myself, I sincerely hope that next year I achieve something that has been unthinkable in our recent history: a third appearance at the judges’ dinner at Mansion House.’
Managing to elicit one last laugh before she finished, she said: ‘As a practising Muslim, I can only report that the wine is said to be magnificent. By the looks of things, you know that already. So, please raise those glasses to the lord mayor and the lady mayoress.’
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